Drexel professor causes stir with tweet, again

Controversial Drexel University professor George Ciccariello-Maher is tweeting again.

Ciccariello-Maher, an associate professor of politics and global studies, made headlines on Christmas Eve after tweeting, "All I want for Christmas is white genocide."

On Wednesday, he tweeted his way back into the news cycle.

"Some guy gave up his first-class seat for a uniformed soldier. People are thanking him," Ciccariello-Maher tweeted. "I'm trying not to vomit or yell about Mosul."

Since the tweet went viral, Ciccariello-Maher set his account to private.

In a statement to several media outlets, including the New York Daily News and Fox News, Ciccariello-Maher said the message was a personal reaction two days after "U.S. airstrikes incinerated an estimated 200 civilians in the Iraqi city of Mosul."

It was, he said, a reaction to "what I considered a smug and self-congratulatory gesture by a first-class passenger toward a uniformed soldier."

"Maybe predictably, my tweet has since been fed into and misrepresented by the outrage machine that is right-wing media," he added. "Needless to say, my personal views expressed off-campus have absolutely nothing to do with those of my employer, Drexel University."

He added that he has respect for anyone "who makes difficult and dangerous decisions out of economic necessity — whether they are public school teachers, construction workers, economic migrants, or young soldiers.

"What I don't respect is a brutal invasion and occupation of Iraq that has not made our world any safer — a war that has taken advantage of economically disadvantaged Americans, a war that has given the world ISIS, and a war that has wrought carnage like that seen in Mosul and elsewhere," he added. "The best way to support troops is not with symbolic gestures and first-class seats, but by bringing them home safely, by ensuring that women in uniform are not subjected to what is an epidemic of sexual assault, and by providing dignified medical and psychological care. Those who today claim to demand respect for the troops show little in the way of respect for how they are treated in and out of the military."

A spokesperson for Drexel University released the following statement to those outlets: "The recent social media comments by George Ciccariello-Maher, Associate Professor of Politics and Global Studies at Drexel, were made outside the classroom, are his own opinion and do not represent the University's views. Drexel is committed to and vigorously supports our ROTC students, student veterans and alumni who have served in the military. Our support for student veterans has helped us create an inclusive campus culture that honors service and Drexel's deep connection to American military history."